


Antidote

by Syrum



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Character's Name Spelled as Hanji, Eren isn't as clueless as you might think, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hospitalization, I just can't help myself, Injury, Injury Recovery, Levi just needed a bit of a push is all, M/M, Major Character Injury, Original Character Death(s), Yes I used an OC but my OCs always die, ereri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-19
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-10 04:27:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4377167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syrum/pseuds/Syrum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a relatively straight-forward trip outside of the walls, Eren is seriously injured and Levi is forced to face up to feelings he's been trying to ignore for entirely too long.  Watching the titan-shifter clinging onto life, the foul-tempered Corporal comes to the sudden realisation that perhaps he might not get the chance to tell the brat how he feels after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Notebook

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, shush, I have other things I should be working on.
> 
> This was meant to be a single chapter thing, damnit!!

A flash of light through the darkness and then pain, unbelievable searing pain across his vision. A shout to his left, barely heard over the sound of screaming - his screams - and something hot and wet splashed across his face, mingling with the ever-falling rain water. Everything was entirely too bright, then dark, then nothing as the ground rushed up to meet him. Eren could feel gravity shift around himself and he might have braced for impact, perhaps, if he wasn’t so distracted by the all-encompassing pain that had engulfed his very soul. Something scratched against his cheek, rough and firm, and he could feel himself being dragged backwards, away, the roar of the titan followed by a heavy thud that was enough to shake the ground, knocking his saviour to the dirt, balance thrown too far off by the heavy weight of the injured boy in his arms, feet slipping in the inch-thick mud.

“Shit!” An exclamation, somewhere above his head, and at least the screaming had stopped for now, replaced by little, pained whimpers every time Eren moved his head. He could feel strong arms slide beneath his own, dragging him up, and then the unmistakable scent of wet horse filled his nostrils as he was hoisted, almost certainly by more than one pair of hands, onto one of the skittish beasts, belly pressed against its back, limbs hanging loosely over either side.

“This is bad, we need to get out of here.” Sasha, he realised, close enough that the panic in her voice was unmistakable, even over the howling of the wind.

“Don’t need to tell me twice.” Jean, somewhere behind him, strong hands leaving his back as the other man withdrew, shouting something Eren could not hear over the pounding of blood in his ears. A weight behind him on the horse, and they were moving then, the steady gallop of the horse beneath him rocking the brunette’s injured body with each impact of hooves upon the dirt. 

“Don’t you dare fucking die on me, brat.” It hurt, unbelievably so, every movement sending shock waves of pain through his skull, enough to make him lose what little breakfast he’d had that morning. “Why the fuck didn’t you transform? Shit, hold on!” He didn’t have an answer, not one he could articulate at that point anyway. A hand to his back, holding him in place, and somehow the touch was comforting as Eren welcomed the oblivion that claimed him.

* * *

It should have been an easy enough mission, albeit an entirely unnecessary one; retrace their steps, find the stupid notebook Hanji had lost the week previous, return with her supposedly precious notes, avoid any titans they happened across on the way. 

“If I don’t get that book back, it’ll put my research back months!” It was ridiculous, having to leave the safety of the walls for a few scraps of paper, and had she not lost the notebook in the first place it wouldn’t have been necessary at all. Levi had grumbled and griped, as he always did, but in the end he agreed to lead a mission to retrieve it, in the hopes that it would keep the irritating woman quiet for a time. She had muttered something about an antidote, though he paid it little mind, the inner workings of Hanji’s mind entirely too annoying to try to fathom out.

Of course, it had not panned out the way he had anticipated. It should have taken them four hours at most to reach the copse where Hanji was certain she had dropped the notebook when a three meter titan had surprised them amongst the trees the week before, but the weather was not on their side, heavy rain pelting the troupe as storm clouds masked near enough all sunlight, leaving the open plains dark and foreboding. That, in itself, should have been enough to put a halt to the mission, but Levi had reasoned the darkened sky should restrict their interaction with any titans that happened to be roaming around, and he could only imagine the panic-stricken expression on Hanji’s face as she realised her notes would be more than a little damp once they returned with them.

Despite their early start, it was past noon by the time they made it to the copse of trees, and the gradually worsening weather only served to hamper their search. In the end, it was Connie who - quite literally - stumbled across the tome, wedged between increasingly sodden ground and a tree root. Levi had not bothered to dismount to aid in the search; a steadily increasing sense of foreboding kept him on continual alert, barely grazing the edge of the trees, his mount seemingly as aware of the danger as he was as she shifted nervously, snorting and pulling at her reins.

“Something isn’t right.” Mikasa drew up beside him, and he spared the girl a sidewards glance before huffing and returning his attention to the expanse of open grassland before them, vision obscured by the weather. “We need to leave. Now.”

“Too fucking late for that.” Levi hissed, using one hand to push wet bangs from his eyes, water dripping from thin eyebrows as he drew back from the edge of the copse, further into relative safety of the trees. Ahead, they could just about make out a dark figure, framed by the rain, approaching slowly but purposefully. Moments later, the first trembles could be felt, giant footsteps approaching from the west, growing steadily louder as the enormous titan drew closer to their hiding spot.

“We have to get up, into the trees.” Eren Jaeger, the kid who had caused him so much trouble up to that point, had raced over the instant the footsteps had become noticeable, leaning against the skittish mare, hand a little too close to Levi’s knee for the Corporal’s liking.

“No.” The shorter man stated, mouth a thin line as he dragged the reins around so his horse would turn, moving forward at a canter. “Get to your horses, all of you, we should be able to outrun it.”

“Are you insane? That thing must be at least fifteen, no, twenty metres tall!” A new recruit, one he hadn’t particularly wanted to bring along, ‘Cassie’ he believed her name was. Hanji thought the girl had potential, though all Levi could see at that moment was an annoyance and a liability.

“Then stay here and die.” The short-tempered Corporal snapped, charging forward to relay the message to those too far into the trees to hear his initial barked orders.

“He’s right; in this weather it shouldn’t be able to keep up, we have the advantage.” Jean offered the girl what he hoped was a reassuring smile, before digging his heels into the chestnut stallion he had been assigned, charging after their leader, sparing a glance back at the trio still behind him, noting with a frown that the new girl seemed to be lagging behind somewhat.

The wind lashed at their faces and bare hands, rain soaking the group through to the skin as their horses pressed forwards, their heavy breathing audible even over the sounds of their hooves. Levi lead them around, a swooping arc that lasted near enough an hour and put them well out of their way, but far enough out of the reach of the large and strangely active titan that they should be safe.

Their horses slowed to a canter, their energy sapped, the spares faring little better after the long gallop. The ceaseless rain only seemed to buffet them harder as they continued on in near-silence, voices lost too easily to the raging storm for any sort of conversation to be held. A further hour passed, then another, the landscape never seeming to change in the hateful downpour. Levi could sense the fear of those alongside him, behind him, too far away to see clearly; it was one thing to head into the unknown on a clear, bright day, but another thing entirely to venture forth not knowing what was more than twenty feet ahead of them.

A noise to his left had Levi veering right, turning just in time to see the shape of one rider flying through the air, horse following shortly after. “Abnormal! Keep formation!” He couldn’t be certain his shout was heard by any but the closest riders, and even they seemed to be having trouble following orders. He turned about, seeing Mikasa do the same from the corner of his eye, Jean suspiciously absent on the other side, aiming for the titan that had managed to ensnare another of the legion’s members, the man’s screams audible even over the howling of the wind as the thing bit into him.

The rain seemed to ease off, if only slightly, enough that they could see the grinning face of the abnormal as it turned to face them. Mikasa moved first, her manoeuvre gear humming as she launched herself from her horse, barbs buried in the titan’s shoulder. It reacted faster than it should have been able to for a titan of that size, ripping the cords out and sending the surprised woman tumbling to the ground.

Levi turned a sharp left, pressing around the creature in the hopes of getting behind it, when from somewhere behind them he heard a shout; another titan, smaller, but unseen and unheard in the storm. It had the new girl, Cassie, by the leg and had lifted the screaming blonde from her horse, terror clear on her features even from such a distance. She had something in her hand, a flare gun from the looks of it, grabbed at random when the titan had descended on her, the desperate struggle of a doomed woman.

Eren and Connie had turned at her screams as well, launching themselves at the creature, blades glinting even in the low light. Mikasa had righted herself, swinging effortlessly through the air, using the large titan’s own body against it as she fought to reach the nape of its neck. The Corporal changed targets, aiming for the smaller titan, trusting the larger one to the more than capable Mikasa. The world seemed to slow, move at half speed, as he sped towards his doomed underling. As he watched, the girl was dropped into the gaping maw of the titan, her fingers tightening reflexively and the flare gun going off.

Eren dropped like a stone, the flare hitting him in the face, his screams drowning out her own as he tumbled to the earth. There was a panicked shout, and it wasn’t until later that Levi realised the noise had been his own, barely reaching Eren in time to catch the falling brunette. Dragging the boy backwards, away from the now flailing titan, the foul-tempered Corporal only knew of the large titan’s demise by the impact of its massive bulk against the ground, knocking him off his feet, the wet soil and grass not enough to keep him upright.

It wasn’t until that moment that Levi was able to finally get a good look at the damage caused; the flare had seemingly glanced across Eren’s face, removing part of his nose and both of his eyes, the bloody mess not enough to kill the teen straight off. “Shit!” If he didn’t get Eren to a doctor soon, there wouldn’t be much point in taking him back at all.


	2. Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry, I totally forgot I hadn't posted this yet!! D:
> 
> (made it twice the length it was going to be to make up for it)

“This isn’t good, he’s still bleeding.” Hanji’s face was obscured by her hair as she pressed the needle of a syringe into the crook of Eren’s arm, missing the vein the first time and having to try a second. A thin purplish liquid vanished slowly into the prone form of the brunette, pale and unmoving, a shadow of his usual self.

“Then fucking _stop_ the bleeding. Why the _fuck_ aren’t there any proper doctors here?” Levi snapped from his position at the window, arms crossed tightly over his chest as he stared out over the courtyard below, the smell of antiseptic and chloroform flooding his senses, the former somehow soothing. The latter, less so.

“I’m trying!” He could tell the woman was starting to panic, certainly not her usual state, and a glance at the bed told him all he needed to know about Eren’s current state; thick bandages covered his eyes, blood still seeping through the cloth despite the multiple layers of gauze and padding. His chest rose and fell, too slow and too shallow, a man hovering on the brink of death.

“Shit.” He swore, not for the first time that day, choosing to remain staring down at the soldiers below, the sight far preferable to the deathly pale form laid out behind him, a blanket of darkness wrapping the city. It wasn’t often that Levi found himself in a position where he was entirely helpless, where he had no idea what to do, and he didn’t like it one bit. Eren’s breath hitched behind him and the boy cried out, suffering even in his mostly unconscious state, the sound enough to rend the sullen Corporal’s heart in two.

It was a stupid, childish infatuation, that was all. It had started out as nothing more than curiosity, a need to know more about the strangely enigmatic and straightforward titan-shifter. He had watched the boy grow, refining his skills, becoming an asset, a warrior, a fighter Levi could depend on. He had realised, after the first year, he felt something akin to pride for the teen, for all the progress he had made, the boy slowly but surely growing into a man.

He couldn’t be certain when it had shifted from casual curiosity into something less than pure. All Levi knew was that the brunette had taken to invading his dreams, replacing the unsavoury and sometimes downright terrifying nightmares that often plagued him with something entirely more pleasant. It was ridiculous, he was old enough to be the boy’s father, and he knew he could never act on it, but with Eren close to death the Corporal was starting to wonder if perhaps he _should_ have said something, anything, if only to see the reaction from the younger man.

A sob behind him drew his attention, and for a moment Levi expected the worst, back stiffening. A rattling cough from Eren proved him wrong though, and he loosed the breath he was holding. “I didn’t know.” Hanji was outright crying now, fat tears gathering behind her glasses as they barely clung to her face, the squad leader leaning over her patient, hands shaking. “It wasn’t meant to be like this.”

“You did something.” Levi growled as he rounded on the woman, eyes narrowed dangerously. “What the _fuck_ did you do?”

“An immunosuppressant, designed to suppress the titan part of his blood. It was a trial, Eren wanted to-” Whatever she was about to say was cut off mid-sentence as Hanji found herself pressed, forcefully, against the wall, the Corporal shorter than her by a good ten centimetres and yet still he managed to lift her by the neck, enough that her feet barely touched the floor.

“This. Is. _Your_. Fault.” Levi punctuated every word with a sharp squeeze, before releasing his captive, letting her slump back against the wall. In any other situation, under any other circumstances, she would have fought back, kicked out against him, but this was not a normal situation. Her favourite test subject, her _friend_ , was slowly losing his battle against the injuries he had sustained, and Levi was right. It was _her_ fault.

“I know.” She muttered softly, more to herself than to anyone else. That Eren had been a willing participant was irrelevant in their current situation. The drug hadn’t just stopped Eren from being able to transform into a titan, it had also halted his healing ability entirely, which meant that if she didn’t find a way to stop the bleeding soon he would die.

“Fix it.” Levi hadn’t forgiven the woman, far from it; he would give her hell later, but she was the only one present who stood a chance of saving the teen, and he was damned if he was going to let Eren die without at least trying to sort out those damnable feelings he was harbouring.

Hours passed, bandages were changed and again, and yet still Eren clung stubbornly on to life. The notebook, sodden as it was, had remained mostly intact and Hanji had been able to use it to concoct something green and foul-smelling, which was forced down Eren’s throat, nearly choking him. Somehow, it had seemed to work, the bleeding slowing and then eventually stopping entirely, drawing a sigh of relief and a crazed laugh from his bespectacled doctor.

“He’s in the clear?” Levi had not left Eren’s side once, watching Hanji like a hawk as she worked, or staring out of the window when that became too much. The rain had long since stopped, and the sun was starting to peek over the horizon, bathing the courtyard with a warm, orange glow. He hadn’t slept, of course, which meant that he was rather more irritable than usual, their current circumstances not helping his mood either.

“Yeah, I think so. He’s not going to be moving any time soon, but those titan abilities of his should kick in soon, which will help.” Hanji was grinning at him, which only made the Corporal scowl more, stalking over to the side of the bed.

“Good. Now get out.” He snapped at the woman, who frowned at him over the top of her glasses, eyes red from too many tears and not enough sleep.

“But-”

“ _Out!_ ” He all but shouted at her, and Hanji - despite herself - knew better than to argue. She turned and stalked from the room, closing the door behind her, intending to find Mikasa and Armin to inform them of the good news; the pair had been banned from the makeshift hospital, or rather Mikasa had. She was, he thought, entirely too attached to her adoptive brother, and had made it too difficult for Hanji to work on the boy. The idea drew an almost smirk from the Corporal; if she was too attached, then what did that make him? She hadn’t given in without a fight, though, and it was only thanks to Armin that she saw sense at all, leaving them to it, albeit begrudgingly.

“What am I going to do with you? Stupid brat.” Levi sighed inaudibly as he made himself comfortable on the edge of the bed, staring down at the brunette, watching as Eren shifted slightly at the sound of his voice. “This is your fault as much as it is hers. If you think I’m going to let you get away with it just because you were fucking injured, you’re very much mistaken.” Eren’s hand was in his own, and when had that happened? He wasn’t certain, and found he didn’t much care. “I’ll have you peeling potatoes for the next six months, or shovelling horse shit.” The hand, clasped within his own, twitched slightly, almost a squeeze. With no one to witness his moment of weakness, Levi raised the bruised limb, pressing his lips to the back of Eren’s hand in something that might have been a kiss.

Footsteps, hurried and not too far away, had Levi placing Eren’s arm back atop the covers and standing from the bed, crossing his arms over his chest just in time for Mikasa to barge into the room Armin in tow. The Corporal huffed before stepping around the pair and leaving the room, letting them watch the titan-shifter for the moment, leaving orders to call on him the instant Eren were to wake. For the moment, though, he badly needed sleep, and that was just what he was going to do.

* * *

Eren knew what pain was; he had suffered beatings from bullies as a child, survived the rigorous training required to enter the survey corps and fought against titans as both his human self and as one of them. He knew it, understood it, and most of the time he could fight past it. He had lost and arm and a leg - quite literally - in his battle against the titans, regained both, and had fought through the entire thing.

This was a pain he did not know how to handle, though. Awaking to a darkened room, with no sense of time or place and very little memory of what had put him there, his face felt like it was on fire, eyes burning and itching behind what he assumed were bandages.

“No, don’t move.” Mikasa, he would know that voice anywhere, her gentle fingers holding his hand in place so he would not pull and scratch at the dressings over his eyes. “You’re still healing, stay still.”

“What happened?” Eren rasped, throat parched and sore, the taste of something unnatural lingering unpleasantly in his mouth.

“You were attacked, outside the walls.” Armin, to his other side, and Eren felt the slight blonde’s smaller hand take his free one. 

“Two titans; I took one down, but the other one got hold of one of the new recruits. Her flare gun went off, it hit you in the face.” Mikasa’s voice was closer now, kneeling perhaps? He wished he could see her, to reassure her that it was okay.

“We were so worried.” Eren managed a small smile through the pain, squeezing both of their hands, feeling them squeeze back as Armin continued. “They couldn’t stop the bleeding for a while, we thought we might lose you. Hanji found something that helped, though, and here we are,” Hanji had? Ah, that explained the bad taste in his mouth then, something new she had cooked up. Still, it had saved his life, and for that he was more than grateful.

“Where’s Hanji now?” He asked, swallowing down bile as whatever he had been forced to drink threatened to make a reappearance.

“Hiding from the Corporal, I think.” Armin laughed softly, earning a small frown from the bed-bound brunette. “He’s been in a bad mood ever since he brought you in here. More than usual, I mean.”

“Oh.” Eren could do little but lay still, staring into nothingness, frowning slightly as his friends traded knowing looks above him. He could not see them, but he knew they were there.

“He wanted to know the instant you woke up.” Armin squeezed his hand once more, drawing his attention, the position shifting as the blonde stood. “Would you like me to let him know now, or did you want more rest first?”

“Better get it over with.” The sigh he loosed was one of resignation, of a dressing-down that he knew was inevitable, and that he more than deserved. If the Corporal was still in a foul mood, and Hanji was hiding from him, that meant he knew about the experiment and he was unlikely to be happy about it. Armin’s hand released his own, fingers slipping free, and his footsteps faded into obscurity.

“I’ll stay with you, if he says anything-” Eren cut Mikasa off with a wave of his hand, shaking his head still entirely too painful.

“No, I need to deal with this myself. It’s my fault this happened, I’m the one to blame, and I’ve got everyone worrying about me as a result.”

“This wasn’t your f-”

“Yes, it was.” Eren replied firmly, cutting her off once more, sensing her annoyance at not being allowed to finish. Only his wounded state saved him from a clipped ear, though he would have deserved that as well.

“Jaeger.” Levi’s clipped tone matched the clack of his boots against the floor. Eren swallowed, suddenly nervous, knowing his injured state was not likely to save him from the dressing down he was about to receive. Giving Mikasa’s hand a quick squeeze before letting go, he resigned himself to his fate as her own footsteps vacated the room, door swinging shut behind her.

“Do you have _any_ idea how much trouble you have caused, you little shit?” Levi all but exploded at him, pacing at the end of the bed, the Corporal’s breathing rough and uneven. “You almost died, we almost died! Because you couldn’t get it into your thick skull that no only are your titan powers _wanted_ , we actually _need_ them you stupid fuck!”

“C-”

“ _Do not interrupt me!_ ” The Corporal fumed, making Eren wince under the force of his attack. “What the fuck did you expect would happen. Fuck, did you _want_ this to happen? Did you _want_ to end up half-mauled and near enough dead? Because if that’s what you want, I’ll do it my-fucking-self. Shit.” There was silence for a moment, and the bed at his side dipped, only slightly, as the petite soldier sat himself upon the edge.

“Why, Eren?” Levi finally sighed, sounding much older than usual, shifting slightly on the spot. “Do we not make you feel valued? Do you think we still fear you? I have spent the past week trying to work out what I did wrong, why you would try something so _dangerous_ without at least talking to me first.”

“I’ve been out that long?” Eren asked softly, expecting a reprimand, surprised when he did not receive one.

“You almost died. More than once. _Shit_ , I watched as your life slipped away and there was _fuck all_ I could do to stop it. I don’t ever want to fucking feel that way again, understand?” Groping blindly, Eren finally found the hand that he knew would he somewhere to his right, not expecting the way the slender digits trembled under his own or the slight dampness at the fingertips.

“I promise I won’t try anything stupid like this again, or I’ll at least ask you about it first.” The titan-shifter could feel the itch of his eyes healing behind the cloth, light seeming brighter with each passing moment, knowing that it would still be some time before he could see again.

“Damn right you won’t be trying it again. I almost lost you once, I’m not going to make the same mistake twice.” A week of very little sleep had left Levi with a lot of time to think, and he had come to the realisation that he had only three important things in his life; his career, his skill in slaying titans and Eren. He had claimed the first two as his own, worked for them, shed blood and tears for them, it was only right that he should do the same for the third as well.

“Corporal? Sir?” The hand within his own had shifted, squeezing his fingers tightly, and Eren was suddenly aware of the close proximity of the other man as hot breath ghosted over his cheek.

“I’m not going to lose you again, Eren.” Too close, much too close, and there was little Eren could do as thin, chapped lips pressed against his own in a harsh mockery of a kiss. It was over in less than a moment, before the titan-shifter could either respond or pull away, though he found his fingers tightened subconsciously around Levi’s own, halting his retreat.

“What was...” Lifting his left hand to his lips, Eren tilted his head towards the Corporal, a look of confusion upon his features.

“I’m practically old enough to be your father, foul-mouthed, bad tempered and I can’t promise you a future outside of what we have now, but I can say with all honesty that there is no one else in this world that I care for as much as I do for you. The offer is there, if you want it.”

“And what if I don’t?” Eren’s heart was hammering within his chest, turning over in his mind the possibilities, trying to decifer what he wanted, what he was feeling.

“Then nothing will have changed.” Levi’s tone had returned to the cold, impersonal one that he was so used to, and he found that he did not like it, frowning slightly.

“I think,” He paused for a moment, worrying at his bottom lip, sensing Levi’s eyes upon him. “I think I would like to see where this goes. If you’ll have me.” He smirked and tugged on Levi’s arm, the older man allowing himself to be pulled back down onto the edge of the bed and letting Eren take the lead for a while.


	3. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, it's been a long time since I published this, and you all probably hate me by now.
> 
> I'll freely admit, I can't quite recall where this chapter was supposed to be going...a sex scene originally, I think, but on further reflection I don't feel like the story needed it - it would feel too much like adding it in for the sake of it?
> 
> So, I wrote something entirely different! Hope this is okay, if a little short!

"Corporal!” Thundering footsteps, and Levi had his by that point infamous glare levelled at the door long before it swung open without so much as a knock. “Corporal Levi sir, there’s a messenger from-” Whatever message Sasha had been planning on relaying to him, and wherever the messenger in question might have hailed from, died on her lips the instant her gaze landed upon the bed. While Levi was well aware of the power of his stare, often stunning the newer recruits into a terrified silence with so little effort he might almost be proud of it, the brunette was not so much as looking at him.

No, rather than cowering under the heat of his irritated glare, Sasha had stopped dead in the doorway, one hand raised as though in an afterthought, her eyes wide with surprised and fixed, unmoving, upon a spot some three inches below Levi’s chin. The same spot, in fact, that was presently occupied by the tip of Eren’s nose.

Eren was, and had been for some hours hence, curled into Levi’s side, one leg tossed carelessly over Levi’s own in the too-small bed. Both hands had curled into possessive fists, clutching at the pale cotton of his shirt and leaving creases that would remain long after they parted. Not that Levi particularly minded the temporary damage, strangely enough, soft brown hair tickling at his bare neck - cravat discarded some scant hours earlier along with his jacket, folded neatly upon the chair beside the bed - and the faint ghost of breath from Eren’s parted lips rather more of a distraction than he would have liked to admit.

Though with his arms looped over the younger man as they were, present position pinned to the bed notwithstanding, one could hardly accuse Levi of being an _unwilling_ participant.

“Um-” A low snore sounded from somewhere below Levi’s chin, and his glare intensified, though with the grin that was slowly spreading across the girl’s face - wide enough that he thought it might split - he knew the effort was in vain and his annoyance was going entirely unnoticed.

Or, worse, ignored.

“ _Blouse!_ ” Her eyes snapped up, and Levi could not help feeling just a little pleased with himself when she flinched back minutely as their eyes met, warm brown to cold steel. Eren shifted against his chest, pressing one still-bandaged eye firmly against his collarbone, snuffling softly in his sleep. It was downright adorable, and Levi was loathe to admit he hated Sasha just a little for bearing witness to it, a flare of possessiveness coursing through him as his arm tightened reflexively around the younger man.

In hindsight, it had perhaps not been one of his best ideas to allow Eren to pin him so thoroughly, and certainly not while the door remained unlocked in what was, essentially, their makeshift infirmary. Still, it wasn’t as though Eren had given him much choice, considering the part he had played in both their present positions and their reasoning for being in the infirmary in the first place.

No, Levi had no qualms whatsoever about placing the blame for this squarely, and entirely, on Eren’s shoulders.

“Not a fucking word.” He growled, and Sasha merely nodded, her expression shifting into something else, something unreadable yet strangely soft, the broad grin melting away. “Out!” She turned to leave, pausing for just a moment in the doorway, her silhouette outlined by the glow of the hallway beyond.

“Take care of him.” She turned, just enough for Levi to see the profile of her face, soft smile still playing across her lips, expression fond and eyes downcast. “I know he seems tough, but it’s all just a mask really; he’s just as fragile as the rest of us.”

“I don’t need your fucking advice.” The growl was not as menacing as it might have been, and Levi silently berated himself for it.

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Sasha replied softly as she slipped near-silently from the room, the door clicking shut behind her. The sound of her footsteps walking away, a steady clack-clack on the flagstone flooring, went all but ignored as hands larger than his own slid up his still-clothed chest, while surprisingly soft lips pressed a fleeting, timid kiss to Levi’s neck.


End file.
